coastal
09-01-2003, 04:28 PM
Had some time to spare yesterday and decided to stop by Volvo of North Vancouver to give the XC90 a good look. This turned into an offer for an extended test drive in a silver T6 model with Eric Duchesne, one of their sales consultants.
We started out by doing some offroading along the banks of the Capilano River mouth. Though I can't say I'd want to take use it for regular ofroad abuse (too nice for that!http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif, I must say the XC90 performed exceedingly well in the conditions we threw at it. At speed, most bumps were barely noticeable and when we started to crawl it was very easy to feel the suspension working hard to keep the truck at even keel. We then tested it on a reverse climb of an extremely steep incline and the AWD system performed absolutely minimum wheel spin.
Will be interesting to see the results of Mas and Mr. Westlake's testing since the 90 also uses the Haldex system. I think we're going to see quite a marked difference between the two systems.
Next we sped up the Upper Levels. First thing I noticed here as I opened it up is the amount of power over my V70XC. The accelerator felt like it had no bottom.. kept going and going!
Next, we were planning on running up Cypress Mountain but the park is closed due to extreme fire hazard so instead, we stopped to take in the view at a lower makeshift viewpoint. Interestingly noticed a number of people checking out the new truck... though the XC90 has been out for quite a while now, it's definitely still a show stopper!
We then did a tour of West Van along Marine Drive and back to the dealership. One scary moment though, and still one of my complaints of both the cars... they really need an audible alarm for low fuel. Returning along Marine Drive I just caught the fuel guage dip to 20 KM left. Luckily a gas station was nearby and about a block away the km's remaining went to ---... ie ZERO! Came into the station on fumes, luckily averting disaster!
Upon returning to the dealership, I mentioned earlier that I was the webmaster of this site... and Eric confirmed that not
only was he aware of the site, he was actually in the process of printing off some content from these forums just before we had arrived.. funny coincidence. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
The decision between a 2004 XC70 and a 2004 XC90 would be very difficult since a lot of my problems with my V70XC have been fixed in the new XC70. But since my decision was based on my existing 2001 V70XC versus a brand new XC90, I'll give you my opinions based on the decison between the old and the new.
Some things I like about the XC90 over my V70XC
- More power
- Much smoother and intuitive transmission shifts
- AWD system seems to be more responsive and reliable, plus less worry about tire size selection.
- Better ground clearance
- Third row seats may find use as kids come into the picture and are very well engineered
- Split rear hatch is a great innovation, easier to travel with flat oversize items such as plywood and surfboards inside the vehicle.
- Overall, a more refined package than my (almost) three year old car.
Reasons why I'm keeping my V70XC
- Still prefer the driving dynamics of the car platform
- Better seats in my car... maybe because over time they've conformed to me. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
- Though we drove a T6 demo, which I'm sure had been put through a rigourous set of tests while calcuating, fuel economy was a disturbing 17-18 l/100km. My 70 gets a much better 10-11 l/100km.
- Emotionally still attached to my first XC. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
- Though the XC90 definitely has more overall space, I find the 70 has more than enough for our purposes.
- Though both are extremely well designed vehicles, I prefer the V70XC's designs, inside and out. Would really be splitting hairs here though, again both are beauties!
- Generally, though the 90 is a more refined package but I just don't see the value in trading up considering the equity I've got in my 2001. Plus the fact that I've already dealt with a fair chunk of depreciation, no need to do that again any time soon!
Many thanks to Eric for taking the time to show us the XC90, I wouldn't hesitate for a sec to recommend him if you're thinking about getting into an XC90! His email address is [email protected] or stop by their website at http://volvoofnorthvancouver.com/
We started out by doing some offroading along the banks of the Capilano River mouth. Though I can't say I'd want to take use it for regular ofroad abuse (too nice for that!http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif, I must say the XC90 performed exceedingly well in the conditions we threw at it. At speed, most bumps were barely noticeable and when we started to crawl it was very easy to feel the suspension working hard to keep the truck at even keel. We then tested it on a reverse climb of an extremely steep incline and the AWD system performed absolutely minimum wheel spin.
Will be interesting to see the results of Mas and Mr. Westlake's testing since the 90 also uses the Haldex system. I think we're going to see quite a marked difference between the two systems.
Next we sped up the Upper Levels. First thing I noticed here as I opened it up is the amount of power over my V70XC. The accelerator felt like it had no bottom.. kept going and going!
Next, we were planning on running up Cypress Mountain but the park is closed due to extreme fire hazard so instead, we stopped to take in the view at a lower makeshift viewpoint. Interestingly noticed a number of people checking out the new truck... though the XC90 has been out for quite a while now, it's definitely still a show stopper!
We then did a tour of West Van along Marine Drive and back to the dealership. One scary moment though, and still one of my complaints of both the cars... they really need an audible alarm for low fuel. Returning along Marine Drive I just caught the fuel guage dip to 20 KM left. Luckily a gas station was nearby and about a block away the km's remaining went to ---... ie ZERO! Came into the station on fumes, luckily averting disaster!
Upon returning to the dealership, I mentioned earlier that I was the webmaster of this site... and Eric confirmed that not
only was he aware of the site, he was actually in the process of printing off some content from these forums just before we had arrived.. funny coincidence. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
The decision between a 2004 XC70 and a 2004 XC90 would be very difficult since a lot of my problems with my V70XC have been fixed in the new XC70. But since my decision was based on my existing 2001 V70XC versus a brand new XC90, I'll give you my opinions based on the decison between the old and the new.
Some things I like about the XC90 over my V70XC
- More power
- Much smoother and intuitive transmission shifts
- AWD system seems to be more responsive and reliable, plus less worry about tire size selection.
- Better ground clearance
- Third row seats may find use as kids come into the picture and are very well engineered
- Split rear hatch is a great innovation, easier to travel with flat oversize items such as plywood and surfboards inside the vehicle.
- Overall, a more refined package than my (almost) three year old car.
Reasons why I'm keeping my V70XC
- Still prefer the driving dynamics of the car platform
- Better seats in my car... maybe because over time they've conformed to me. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
- Though we drove a T6 demo, which I'm sure had been put through a rigourous set of tests while calcuating, fuel economy was a disturbing 17-18 l/100km. My 70 gets a much better 10-11 l/100km.
- Emotionally still attached to my first XC. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
- Though the XC90 definitely has more overall space, I find the 70 has more than enough for our purposes.
- Though both are extremely well designed vehicles, I prefer the V70XC's designs, inside and out. Would really be splitting hairs here though, again both are beauties!
- Generally, though the 90 is a more refined package but I just don't see the value in trading up considering the equity I've got in my 2001. Plus the fact that I've already dealt with a fair chunk of depreciation, no need to do that again any time soon!
Many thanks to Eric for taking the time to show us the XC90, I wouldn't hesitate for a sec to recommend him if you're thinking about getting into an XC90! His email address is [email protected] or stop by their website at http://volvoofnorthvancouver.com/